World Set to Tackle Threat of Hypothetical "Disease X"

World leaders are set to gather this week in Davos, Switzerland to tackle the threat of "Disease X" - a hypothetical virus 20 times deadlier than COVID-19.

A session titled "Preparing for Disease X" will be led by WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The session will discuss the novel efforts that are needed to prepare healthcare systems for the various challenges that may arise if we want to be prepared for a much deadlier pandemic.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has stated that Disease X has been ranked as a priority disease in its awareness campaign. Alongside Covid-19, other diseases such as the Ebola virus, Zika virus, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers-CoV), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) are also considered important. 

In 2018, the WHO added Disease X to the list in order to open up discussions about how to tackle a potential global pandemic in the future.